WonderCon 2014

WonderCon was during Easter weekend again this year, so you would think that it might not be so busy. Wrong. So wrong. I went for Saturday only and I thought there were a lot more people there this year than last year. There were also a lot more cosplayers this year, which was really neat to see. There were a ton of incredible costumes. I parked next to the most impressive Loki (#lokihatesyou on Instagram), he was a strong Tom Hiddleston doppelganger. I was excited to go to WonderCon because so many people I follow on Instagram and Twitter were going to be there, and I was hoping to meet some of them. I managed to catch glimpses of Mandie from Geeky Glamorous, Katrina of Feoranna Cosplay, Andre Black Nerd of YouTube fame and Xander from season two of King of the Nerds. All were surrounded by lots of people when I saw them, so I didn't get pictures with any of them :( I also got to stop by Miss Alphabet's and Mike Vasquez's (aka Mike Goes Geek) booths. I bought some stickers and prints from Mike, his Adventure Time mashups are pretty awesome. (Side note: We had an AT&T U-Verse service guy out here on Tuesday and he saw the prints, and he was going on and on about how great they were lol). 

The stickers I purchased from Mike.

This was the first convention that my husband and I have gone to without our children, but because it was such a last minute decision to not have them with us, we still didn't have time to make a plan to attend any panels, so we didn't. If our children decide that they don't want to go to SDCC with us this year, we are for sure catching some panels there! We did get to walk the show floor a few times over though, and that was pretty nice. I noticed that while the free swag seemed virtually nonexistent this year, the prices on merchandise was already being reduced while we were there. In the past, I have only seen vendors do that on the last day of a convention, so maybe they were planning on it being a slow day on Sunday. 

I was a pretty bad blogger while I was there. I didn't take very many photos because I was feeling like crap (the stomach flu hit my family hard last week, you can read about it here.). The only pictures I took were of these two amazing Steampunk dresses by Silver Leaf Costumes. I really like the Captain America one (like if I had brought $500 with me, I would have bought it right then), but the Iron Man one is bad ass too. I just have preferences towards blue and stars, so Captain America has the advantage.

Also, Funko Pop! Vinyls were everywhere! So many booths had them, I almost thought I was at a Funko convention. I guess they are having a moment :) I did get to see Jay Barchuel at the How to Train Your Dragon 2 booth, albeit from afar. He was doing a signing there, but I wasn't able to get in the line for that. Luckily they don't set ridiculous perimeters like they do at SDCC when celebrities are around, so my husband and I were actually able to stand at the side of booth and see him. I should've taken a picture of him, but I was getting pushed around a little bit by other fans, and my phone is brand new, so I didn't want to risk breaking it (I am notorious for breaking my phones by doing virtually nothing to them). 

I did take a picture of some religious protesters outside the convention center though. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw the video I posted of them as well. I would like to say this: I have nothing against religion. In fact, I help teach our 1st and 2nd grade boys class on Wednesday nights at my stepmom's church. Do I attend church regularly? No. Do I sin? Of course. Everybody does. So it really got to me that these protesters thought they had the right to stand at the convention center and yell and scream so many hurtful things to people.  It had a very Westboro Baptist Church feel to them and the things they were screaming. And its people like them that give organized religion a bad name. They called the convention itself a sin party. They called the girls there whores. They said everyone there was a pervert or homosexual and that dressing in costume was a sin. Really? They were trying to get people to hit them. They were recording it for who knows what (I'm sure its on YouTube, but I don't feel like searching for it), but luckily nobody took the bait and actually touched them. They got in a lot of people's faces though, trying to get that reaction. They yelled at a lot of girls, trying to shame them. I don't know if these two were part of the yellow sign holders (if you've been to a convention, you know who they are), because the yellow sign holders usually stay quiet. But these guys were just ranting on and on. It took about twenty minutes of them spewing hatred before Comic-Con officials came outside to try and break it up. They didn't seem too concerned with it though. And really, there isn't a lot they can do....constitutional rights and all that. 

Don't feed the trolls.

Except we did. 

Overall, WonderCon was great. Its the new SDCC really. The caliber of exhibitors and cosplayers is vastly improving, not to mention growing,  and so is the volume of attendees. I just wonder if its going to remain in Anaheim, or return up north. I know next April is the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, so that seems conflicting. Either way, I'm sure I'll be attending. And if you've never been to a convention before and want to test the waters (and you're on the West Coast), I suggest WonderCon as your first one. I know I said its the new SDCC, but its still not so crowded that you can't move around and you get all the experiences of a larger convention. 

Recently

Hello everyone! Sorry I have been absent, things have been nasty around here. The flu has been running rampant, and I have been nurse to everyone in my house. I hope to get back to regular blogging this week.

Source.

Happenings: Like I just mentioned, everyone around here has been sick. I also got the heart/blood test results back on Tuesday. Apparently I have a great heart (which is great, but I don't understand because its still acting all wonky), but I am anemic, pre diabetic, and depressed. I was prescribed Zoloft for the depression, prenatal vitamins for the anemia (and prenatals are nasty, I hated taking them when I was pregnant), and to lose weight to stop the diabetes from coming. Sounds all well and good, except I had a really bad reaction to the Zoloft. The side effects of Zoloft alone are nasty, but I accidentally took another medication I was prescribed (one for migraines) while taking it, and the side effects got worse. So I spent a grand total of three days on Zoloft before I went back to the doctor telling him I think I have serotonin syndrome because of that (I have most of the symptoms). He blew me off, they're getting worse, and I have an appointment with an urgent care center for later tonight. Serotonin syndrome is serious stuff, and can be fatal if left untreated. I think I would already be getting better if my doctor had listened to me on Friday. I am hoping this trip to urgent care can get me fixed, because all of this has been really scary. 

Watched: 

King of the Nerds! I am super disappointed that two of my picks have been sent home so far (Nicole last week, Katie this week). And I will let you in on a secret, I had Zachary listed on my original post as one of my picks for winner after the first episode, but took him off it before I published it because his actions in the second show were very off-putting to me. His actions since have still been very off-putting, but to be fair, I think he has a real shot at winning this season. He is a very strong competitor, he just lacks people skills. And did anyone else think that hug between Katie and Brian went on for a little long when she was saying goodbye? Is there some chemistry there? I think they'd be cute together....just throwing that out there.  

Read: Not gonna lie, I haven't been reading much lately. I haven't even had time to read magazines, how sad is that?

Listened To: 

Zendaya-Replay

And special for this Recently post: 

Here are some places that Krystelle's Miss Tells has been mentioned lately-

*Geeky Sprinkles Kickstarter (which was fully funded, yay!)

*Gamerwife (the link about the harassment policies at conventions)

*A Bit Of Geek ( the winner of the Find It In Everything giveaway. Such kind words, thank you!)

Poppin' Off- King of the Nerds Season 2

King of the Nerds is finally back on the air! (Thursdays, TBS, 10/9c) I am pretty excited, as I loved last season. Of course, nobody will ever beat the original cast, but I already have a few that I like. I went through their profiles before the show started, and the only one I didn't really click with was Kelsey.
                                 
Her constant using of Japanese reminded me of that SNL bit with Taran Killam and Vanessa Bayers, but not in the fun way.


So I wasn't completely heartbroken when she was eliminated last week. 

Josh was last night's eliminated contestant. I have mixed feelings about it. Its always sad to see the nerds who are there with nerdy interests over the nerdy education go. This season's competition is heavily dominated by "nerdy" academic paths. Its a little off putting honestly. Last season was a good mix of nerd interests and academic pursuits. Overall, I'm enjoying the season so far. I actually wanted to audition for this season, but then I got scared and changed my mind. And it looks like its a good thing I did. I don't have the education for this season, that's for sure. 



Here are my favorites for the season, and I think one of them has a good chance of winning. 

He has a mind for problem solving and numbers, and hes friendly. 

But I think that makes him a huge target too.

I dig the purple hair. She also has the attractiveness thing working for her.

Shes no Celeste though (who was just along for the ride). 

She has skills that make her a worthy opponent.

Very Genevieve (who should've won last season).

I think shes a strong competitor and we'll see that not only is she smart, 

but she knows how to play the game.

The Gaymer. Hes very fun and has a personality that I think a lot of people are going to like. 

I think he'll be able to skate through for a while based on that alone, and that's not a bad thing!

So who do you think will win this season of King of the Nerds? What do you think of the show in general? Lots of fun or a slap in the face to nerd culture?

Poppin' Off- Nerdy Reality TeeVee

Being nerdy is a thing now. So like anything thats trendy, there are teevee shows about being nerdy. Some might say it even exploits being nerdy. I'm going to talk about a few shows and how I feel about them, and feel free to tell me in the comments below if you think reality nerd teevee is helpful or detrimental to the nerd culture.

*My Life As Liz (MTV)- This to me is the first reality nerd teevee show. Started in 2010, it followed Liz Lee and her Nerd Herd through her senior year in a small Texas town. By the time Season 2 was set to air, plenty of critics had come out against the show, calling it more of a sitcom or scripted reality show than actual reality (MTV prefers to call it a mockumentary at this point). I loved the show, I loved Liz Lee. I still think shes a good representation of a nerd girl and it was a nice change of pace from the regular trashy chicks MTV usually features on their "reality"  shows.

This is the Season One cast of My Life as Liz.

*King of the Nerds (TBS)- I was so excited for this show, and I don't think it disappointed. Nerdy guys and gals living in the same house, completing nerd based challenged for a chance to be the King of the Nerds. I felt that the guys that were cast for the first season fit the nerd stereotype a lot more than the girls did (with the exception for Alana. And when I wasn't hating her for being annoying, I felt sorry for her, because she didn't fit in at all). My favorites for the season were Ivan and Danielle (aka TradeChat! I post her WoW videos from time to time), and even though neither one of them won, they did get awfully close. And I think Genevieve probably should've been the winner, because she was nerdier than Celeste. BUT, it was a game, and Celeste is a pro gamer, so its really no surprise.

That's me with Ivan at WonderCon this year in Anaheim. He was such a nice guy and I was having a total fangirl freakout meeting him! 

*Heroes of Cosplay (SyFy)- Honestly, I didn't know this show existed until about two weeks ago. I mean, I heard a little about it on Instagram (its actually the reason I'm writing this), but I couldn't tell you anything about it. I was writing a paper on gender confusion and needed some background noise. I saw that the SyFy channel was marathoning the show, so I clicked over to it. Big mistake. I was sucked in right away, and it took forever for me to get my paper done. I've heard a lot of cosplayers complain about the show though, saying its too Project Runway and portrays the world of cosplay as cutthroat and mean. Well, I love Project Runway, maybe that's why I got sucked in? Lol, really though. I didn't catch that vibe. And as far as the cattiness, or drama that was shown, well......that's reality teevee for you. But, I am also not a cosplayer, so I don't know anything about costume construction or contests or anything about that world. And if I had a hobby that I loved and a show was made about it, but I thought it misrepresented it, I'd be pretty pissed too.

*Fangasm (SyFy)- Oh Fangasm, the new kid on the block. I didn't get to watch the show the night it premiered, I had to wait a few days (thank goodness for DVRs). I heard that this show is what nerd reality teevee is supposed to be, and its the second reason why I'm writing this. But......I didn't see the difference between this show and say, King of the Nerds. Here, they are seven interns, working to make Stan Lee's Comikaze a success. Okay. But they are still living in the same apartment, and are still completing nerdy objectives. To me, its like a nerdy version of Real World (awkward hot tubs moments and all). Doesn't mean I hate it though. In fact, I really loved how Molly was so disappointed when they went to the Geek Pride Day event, and saw all the skanky girls dressed as superheroes and actually said something about it exploiting geek culture. Its fake geek girls like them that give the rest of us a bad name, and kudos to Molly for pointing it out. I think there will be a lot of fun to come out of the series, and hopefully there will be a season two so I can audition :) Who wouldn't want to intern for Stan freaking Lee?!!?!

The cast of Fangasm.